How Sex Taught me Everything about Social Media Networking

Some very interesting things have been happening in my coaching group. Although it is focussed on linkbait, it seems to becoming more of a PR coaching group. Lots of back and forth about how to contact journalists and get them to write nice things about us and a real thirst for helping build a social media following.

In fact, I would say that getting a following on social media is the next biggest thing after help creating killer headlines.

I have difficulty with this though, because I find it so easy to navigate the rapids of social media I kinda expect everyone else to. But we all have our skill set, and sharing killer techniques and methods between people with other killer skill sets is the best way to learn.

My social media networking skills were being honed long before social media existed or even the World Wide Web. Writing poetry gave me the skill to be able to crack off a rich, terse, to the point Tweet. Cracking sarcastic one liners at the back of the class gave me the snarky humour that sometimes can get you noticed in crowded places and being an avid fan of Encyclopedia Britannica when I was a kid gave me obscure references to the seemingly unrelated allowed me to appear a lot more intellectual than I actually am.

But I would say that the most important thing I learned about success in social media is from sex.

Not actual sex, but the part of the brain that drives us. (Apologies if you were expecting some 50 Shades of Grey Action)
I figured out at the right age that getting girls was not really about being the best looking or the richest. But being able to simply ask a girl out. The more you asked the more you succeeded. Sure you fall flat on your face often. But the burning shame of being told “No” to, was worth it for the ones who said yes.

I had no shame, because I was focussed on the positive results, not the failure rate.

I realised that other guys who never seemed to get the girls simply couldn’t deal with the pain of being told no to. So they just didn’t ask, which to me seemed bonkers. They seemed to expect a 100% conversion rate.

If I can now turn your attention away from sex and to social media, just for a minute.

It’s the same thing when building a social media network. People hate being told no, they hate the defollow, they hate not being noticed and not being retweeted and bewail the fact that nobody seems listen. When the reality is, they never really asked anyone to listen to them or took chances on revealing the good stuff.

It’s not that it takes balls to put it all out there, it’s more about not caring if people don’t give a toss. Because for everyone who things your are a jumped up little turd, with pretentions of grandeur. There are going to be others who think the sun shines out of your assiduously crafted Tweets.

The point is, get out there do stuff, and ignore the rejections. Action is the key to effective social media networking.

Comments

So true. People are waiting for them to be told the secret. There is no secret, you need to go out there and do it, learn what’s right and wrong and what’s good and bad. Learn from your mistakes and keep doing what works. So much content out there for anyone to understand anything and learn anything. Great post, sure to check back soon.